The present invention relates to interproximal brush devices for oral care and more particularly to a brush of the type in which a disposable brush element is retained on a handle by a removable cap member.
A great number of devices exist in the prior art which have been developed for performing the cleaning of teeth and massaging of the gums. The brushes generally have bristles which rub or wipe perpendicularly across the gum and tooth surfaces, and one type of disposable brush has twisted wire bristles which are captured between, and extend radially from, a pair of twisted metal wires. One such brush is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,923 issued to Peter Schultheiss on Nov. 1, 1988 and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Other brushes which have been employed for similar usage are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,143 to Tarrson et al disclosing an interproximal brush handle utilizing a slidable sleeve to retain a brush, U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,199 to Russel which discloses a handle for holding a stem mounted disposable brush and utilizes a slidable tapered sleeve for retaining the brush in a friction fit, U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,226 to Burns which discloses a toothbrush having a metal handle for holding an interproximal brush with a holding chuck utilizing screw threads, knurling, or the like to retain the brush. Other patents which have been referred to in U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,923 cited above are U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,518 to Furrier et al which discloses a toothbrush with fixed bristles and a gum massaging accessory which is pivotably attached to a handle and U.S. Pat. No. 4,319,377 to Tarrson et al disclosing an interproximal toothbrush which uses a threaded sleeve retainer for the disposable brush.
While the above cited U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,923 discloses a device which has proven to be successful in the marketplace, it is considered that an improvement in the product could be made without a substantial increase in cost to the user, which would provide a product more desirable to some of the users' needs.
It has been found that in the device shown in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,923 (which is herein incorporated by reference), the users in some instances, when threading the stem of the brush member through a transverse hole in the handle, were leaving a gap of as much as one-quarter inch between the handle and the bristles of the brush. This leads to bending of the brush and in frequent instances would cause breaking of the brush stem adjacent the handle.
It is also found that the clear color of the plastic employed in manufacturing the handle did not provide a distinct view of the transverse hole to many of the older users, therefore providing difficulty in threading the stem of the brush into the handle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interproximal brush, employing disposable brush members, which facilitates the threading of a brush stem into the handle.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an interproximal brush of the type described wherein the brush stem is given additional support against breakage of the brush during use.